THE ROYAL BASEMENT PODCAST #12: THE DODOS

A lot of bands that make it to the decade mark start to recycle ideas and hit some auto-pilot moments musically, falling into creative ruts and making some less-than-adventurous choices. San Francisco's The Dodos, however, are an exception to that rule. With their sixth album (Individ, released in January on Polyvinyl), The Dodos are continuing to climb to their creative peak; while the band has always relied on curveball rhythmic changes and deceptively technical guitar playing, Individ finds The Dodos writing more urgent, cohesive songs that balance beautifully between sprawling epics and concise blasts.

I sat down with singer/guitarist Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber in the basement of Neumos when the band was in Seattle recently and talked about their creative process, their gear, Jackie Chan and what it's like to watch the city you live in get taken over by development.

Meric Long also picked out some songs for a guest DJ set/playlist that you can listen to below.

(Please note: This isn't really episode 13. My timeline has gotten goofed because I need to finish my conversation with Zach Norton. So, this became episode 12. If you can't follow along, drop me a line and I'll walk you through it.)